I Will Always Come For You
by Ivvory Shadows
Summary: Integra has finally been released from the Tower and has received her first royal invitation since her pardon. She has... acquired... the company of a suitable escort, and her vampire is NOT pleased. AxI, though as ever more angsty than romantic. Done!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I do not own Hellsing, nor do any refrences to terms or concepts copywrited by White Wolf Publishing constitute as achallege to said material... Card-carrying member here, Justin... chill._

_Once again, the characterization isbased more off of the Anime as I have not (yet) had the chance to read the Manga. I would say the timeframe is sometime after the anime events, but not too much after. More will be uploaded, I promise! Please R&R, constructive criticism very welcome._

* * *

Integral gave her reflection one more appraising look in the mirror, determined to ignore the fact that the deep blue satin dress shot through with silver clung to her every curve. She glared critically at her hair, which Walter had insisted she pull up and back so that it flowed over her shoulders and down her back in silken ribbons of snowy white-blonde, leaving only her rimless round glasses to obscure her coldly beautiful face. The delicate silver and sapphire earrings danced as she moved, tickling her bare shoulders….the damned dress had spaghetti straps, not to mention an immodest neckline. She sighed once, gazing longingly at her Walther PPK lying at the foot of her bed, but it was just too bulky for the form-fitting floor length evening gown. She contented herself with the smaller, more elegant, and mostly useless .22 that was tucked snugly into her garter belt. Even so, she arrogantly flicked an imaginary speck of fluff from one of her blue-gloved fingers, the deep satin material ending just above her elbows. 

Turning with military precision she moved towards the foot of her bed to retrieve the silver fur and satin wrap that accompanied the dress. She stopped, however, and glared into the shadows made by her bed-curtains as a delicious shiver ran down her spine.

"Get out," she said with a sigh, her tone carefully bored in order to disguise her racing pulse. She halted her advance as the shadow coalesced into the usual tall, red-clad figure that grinned appreciatively and leaned indolently against a bedpost. She had banished the vampire from her bedchamber more times than she cared to count… this was just a game to them, a pantomime of cruel looks and harsh taunts that each had become comfortable with over the years.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to spy on me." It was a demand, not a question, and she said it more out of habit than spite. The thought of a centuries-old undead demon of the night who was more tenebrous shadow-creature than actual human-form lusting after her body like a prepubescent schoolboy was absurd.

Crimson eyes glinted behind round, orange-tinted sunglasses. Yes, he enjoyed their game of cat-and-mouse and he tipped his hat to her now in mock respect for continuing their little game. "You are the vision of beauty, my master," his deep, sinister voice intoned, the edge of his lips curling in the slightest of smirks. Integral detoured from the foot of her bed - and his presence - and instead moved to her night table to retrieve her clutch purse…silly little thing really, no room for more than her invitation to the gala and extra bullets for her gun. "Except when you open your mouth, of course."

"And you resemble a deranged Cardinal in that getup, my Servant," she shot back coldly, bringing her instinctual reactions to his presence under control once more. She slipped the invite into the silly purse, her fingers lingering over the fine gold lettering for a few moments - there had been a month and a half in that Tower where she had doubted she would ever see her Queens face again. This was the first invitation she had received since being released with a full Royal pardon.

He chuckled. "Still angry at the Vatican, master?"

His voice startled her, but she replied by shrugging elegantly and putting down the purse, instead opting to slip her delicate, silk-clad feet into a pair of silver and blue high heels. "No, I am still angry at you. Allowing Anderson to get away..." she tsk'ed mockingly. Then, sharply, "Speaking of away, I thought I told you to go there."

She moved to pick up the wrap, the only missing piece to her outfit, holding her breath as she neared the undead creature leering before her. She bent to pick it up, ignoring the hot feeling of his glowing eyes sliding over every inch of flesh the dress revealed. Her gloved fingers barely brushed the fur of the wrap when it disappeared. She frowned slightly as she straightened and glared at him.

It was his turn to shrug. "So you did." He held the wrap in quiet invitation, unmoving, his eyes holding a silent query. When she said nothing he moved to stand behind her and wrapped the fur and satin snuggly around her shoulders. She gritted her teeth as his gloved fingers teasingly grazed bare flesh.

"Are you quite finished?" Her voice, though soft, held the promise of steel. And silver bullets.

"Are you quite sure you wish me to stay behind, my master?" he purred, giving the impression of his shadowy form moving closer, the billows of his coat pressing against her. "If the Lordling hired to escort you attempts to besmirch your honor I may be too far away to reach you in time…" His voice was a low, almost primal whisper, his tone taunting and persuading and urgent, the tones he knew annoyed her - and aroused her - most.

Her breath caught. She had convinced herself that she was no more interested in this cold undead thing than she was a toad, however her body was a traitorous thing. She pulled on her vast reserves of strength to still her racing heart and hide her body's reaction in their time-honored manner - she smirked and glanced back at him over her shoulder. "Hmm… yes." she drawled. "You seem to have had a problem with that recently. Old age catching up to you?" Her tone was mocking and indolent, knowing it would enrage him.

He indeed stiffened; piqued that she would choose to remind him of what had almost been two failures on his part to keep her safe… Laura and the evening with Incognito. Of course... had she swallowed her pride with the Laura situation and called for him sooner she would not have had to go through all of that. It was her arrogance as well as her assumptive nature in regards to him that had almost gotten her killed, just as much as his being distracted.

His hands, which had been soft and teasing now slowly gripped her shoulders almost painfully. "Perhaps I will not come at all, if you have no need of me, Sir Integra…" His voice was dangerous, stiff, full of restrained fury.

But it was no use. She chuckled once and moved away from the chill of his body. "You will always come when I call, Alucard," she threw over her shoulder with smug confidence. "That is one thing that you and I DO have in common… we don't know how to fail."

She flipped the light switch as she shut the door behind her, leaving her highly amused monster to fade into his shadows.

* * *

"Has he arrived yet, Walter?" Integra almost demanded as she sauntered down the stairs. She felt a swell of affection towards her old friend as she saw the quiet admiration in his aged eyes when he gazed up at her, but then he blinked and allowed his usual cool manner to return.

"No, Sir Integra, he has not. But please allow me to say that you are quite stunning this evening."

She allowed a polite smile to grace her lightly painted lips. "Thank you, Walter. You would think that young Billings would have learned proper etiquette by now." She shook her head… he was ten minutes late. It was usually the lady that kept the gentleman waiting.

Walters's eyes darkened as he thought on the disrespect of the young these days.

"Well, I am not going to just stand here," she continued. "Tell me when he arrives; I have paperwork to see to."

There was a whisper of HIS mocking laughter, and her eyes flashed. _Alucard..._ her thought held a tone of warning, a silent command to GO AWAY.

Walter bowed formally as the sharp click-clack of her high heels echoed smartly across the cold tiles of the hallway. She swept into her office pulling off her satin elbow gloves, not pausing in her stride towards her desk.

"Get out of my chair, Alucard. _Now_." She demanded seemingly to thin air before she had even reached the middle of the room. Her commanding tones were met with a sardonic chuckle as her chair seems to turn of it's own violation to face her. "My my, you are being a pest this evening."

His indolent grinning face sobered mockingly, and with movement seeming between the ticks of time he was no longer sitting but standing beside her, looking menacing as ever. Without sparing him a glance she slipped gracefully into her chair, throwing the seat a cautious glance before risking her dress on whatever - souvenir - he may have decided to leave behind. He tsk'ed at that thought, seeming to float on air as he moved from the center of the room where she left him to circle behind her.

"Certainly my master's escort has not forgotten her? You did pay him sufficiently to accompany you, correct?" He chuckled as she ignored him, flipping through her files. He continued to slowly circle her, each pass bringing him closer and closer. "Surely the lordling knows better than to anger Sir Integra Wingates Hells…"

"I thought I told you to go bother someone else," she snapped. "I do not need to add an arrogant, overbearing vampire's jealousy to my list of headaches this evening. GO AWAY. I have no intention of needing your protection tonight. I am quite capable of fending off roving hands on my own."

It was her turn to smirk as his eyes as well as his mood perceptibly darkened. He then chuckled, his usual carefree persona slipping back into place.

"Yes. You would leave his hands attached, however. How is he supposed to learn his lesson if you are so lenient?"

She sighed slowly, signing a request form, and filing it in the outgoing tray. Her first instinct was to pull out her gun and just shoot him… that usually made him go away for a few hours at least. But he would only laugh at her mockingly as he faded. Besides she wanted to save her bullets… just in case.

"So, who is this boy that was hired to escort you?

She did not change her tone, nor stop her actions. She did grin privately however at his dogged pursuit of the subject. "He is the eldest son of the Lord of Stafforshire." Alucard's brow rose. "His father is the Queens favored cousin."

"Nothing but the best for Sir Hellsing, hmm?" he mocked, but there was a dangerous edge to his teasing.

The intercom on her desk chose that moment to come to life. "Sir Integra, young Lord Billings has arrived. Shall I send him in?"

"No, Walter, thank you. I will be there shortly." She clicked off the intercom. Alucard marveled at the slight swell of anticipation radiating from his masters body.

._..You may appear the Ice Queen, but you thoughts will always betray you..._

She rose from her chair, smoothed the form-fitting evening gown and slipped on her gloves, but she stiffened when the tenebrous shadow that was Alucard coalesced behind her, his lips close to her ear, the brim of his ridiculous hat covering them both.

"If he touches you, I will be more than happy to rip his throat out, my Master." His voice was dark and deadly, and his body was so cold that it stole the heat from hers. She shivered, though whether from that or the contrastingly warm breath that was blowing in her ear as he spoke she could not say. "Say the word, and I will take your little gun," he placed his white-gloved hand on the outside of her thigh where he knew her .22 was nestled in her garter belt, "and I will send him screaming into hell."

Her voice was barely a whisper as she replied with her usual contempt and anger evident a thousand fold. "If you touch him, I will fill you full of those very same silver bullets, my Servant." He chuckled in her ear, and dared place a soft kiss on her shoulder where it met the throat before vanishing. She shivered again, sighed in annoyance, and went out to greet Nathaniel.

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_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

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He watched from his umbral realm as the two greeted each other. He did not particularly appreciate how the boy dared to gaze at his Master as if she belonged to him, and glowered at the almost animalistic lust that rolled off of the hired Lordling in waves as he gazed at the exquisite beauty of Integra. The irritated fiend's mood was not improved when he detected the faintest pique of Integra's heartbeat and blood flow at the sight of the handsome Lordling, who had by now stepped forward and taken her hand, kissing the air above her hand as was proper – well, at least he knew his manners better than to slobber all over her, gloved hand or not. A dark warning growl could be felt emanating from the room's shadows as Alucard instinctually responded to the potential threat to his Master that Nathaniel posed, a threat that the monster could not pinpoint but could feel. 

As Alucard's mood darkened the air in the main hall shifted, became colder and charged with a dark malevolence that made most mortals recoil in fear. The young man who was just now releasing Integra's hand and drawing himself up from his deep bow suddenly paled slightly and looked around like a wounded deer in the den of a lion. Integra on the other hand shook with quiet internal fury and visibly bristled.

'_Stop it.' _

His irritation deepened in the face of her protective tone.

'_Under no circumstances are you to follow me. Or Nathaniel.'_

He gnashed his teeth at the cold finality of the command (and as she neatly closed the loophole to such), boiling anger taking hold of him for the briefest of moments as he challenged her authority over him, pushing at her control of the seals. Though he had long ago resigned himself to the fate of being the Hellsing's lapdog, it still infuriated his undead soul to be at the whim of a child.

'_Don't defy me, Servant, nor make me confine you to quarters. You know very well that I am capable of such. Stay here.' _Her anger matched his at his audacity to challenge her. She reinforced the order with a push of her indomitable will._ 'Behave.' _Another push._ 'That's an order.'_

By god she was the picture of regality when she defied him. He could recall no more stirring a sight in his centuries of existence than of her, standing in that hallway, her back ramrod straight and her chin at that arrogant angle he had come to know as her 'brook no argument' stance. Her ice blue eyes blazed behind her round spectacles and the air around her crackled with power. She pushed the power of the seals once more, and, when he at last grumbled and sullenly backed down, allowed her demeanor to turn to one of absolute outward calm.

Nathaniel had almost been forgotten as their silent battle of wills had raged, but now that her monster had wordlessly agreed to do as it was told she turned to her escort and fixed him with a gaze of haughty expectation.

For the span of a breath Nathaniel had forgotten every wisp of his decades of etiquette training as he had watched her battle with her Monster. Oh yes, Nathaniel knew about her pet demon, and the knowledge that the hell spawn had been in this very room turned his stomach. But he pushed that from his mind for now. He jumped to under that expectant gaze and offered her his arm. "Shall we, Sir Integra? It does not do to keep Her Majesty waiting."

Integra took his arm almost delicately, shaking her head and deciding that she wholeheartedly agreed with Walter where young men were concerned. Useless.

* * *

The couple arrived amid the rush of brightly costumed, overdressed and over-jeweled ladies and their stuffy escorts. Nathaniel was properly in awe of Integra's beauty and when he saw her sniff of disapproval of the peacocks before them he smiled and spoke softly. "You outshine every one of them, Integra."

She ignored her irritation at his too-familiar form of address as she returned the compliment with the polite response of a pretty smile – at least that is what she meant her smirk to be. The brave lad tried to ignore the unpleasant implications behind that expression and offered her his arm as they entered the Queen's autumn gala.

They were announced by the queen's page as were all the arriving guests, a stunning paring everyone agreed. A gentleman in the queens colors approached them and bowed to Integra deeply, telling her the Queen wished to see her at once. The older man led her away from Nathaniel who shrugged good-naturedly at having his date snatched from his so soon. In consolation he reached out and snagged two flutes from a passing wine tray and sank into a chair at their assigned table in the ballroom. With the skill and subterfuge of a street magician he stealthily dropped a small white tablet, which dissolved instantly, into one flute. Carefully he kept that glass on his right, his own on the left. It would not do to have the little pill affect him instead of his target.

Integral returned to Nathaniel's side shortly after, apologizing almost mechanically for the delay. He made a charmingly airy comment about not minding sharing her with the Queen if he MUST, and offered her the wine on his right as she actually chuckled at his flippancy. They toasted to Queen and Country, Nathaniel managing to hide a dark chuckle as she drank.

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_To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

_A.N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I realise that this chapter is a bit... blah. I got writers block. Forgive me?_

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Meanwhile, at the Hellsing Estate…

Alucard was still highly agitated, and bored – never a good combination even under the best of circumstances. He acknowledged that his usual harassment of Integral was more because she never bored him with her pride and arrogance which was, at times, on par with his own. Seras did not understand the allure that Integral – coldhearted yet exceedingly fragile, human, female – held for her Master, a vampire who, should he choose to indulge in carnal desires, could easily have any woman in existence. Seras did not understand that no one else was such a dynamic mix of pure light and potential darkness as his Master, and he took extreme pleasure in baiting her whenever he could.

Seras also did not understand that their little games of cat-and-mouse served to keep his Master on her toes, her senses sharp and her instincts keen, so that she could not easily be taken advantage of in other aspects of her life.

However this evening could not truthfully be called his usual bout of taunting. Something about the situation had set him off. He was a creature of instincts,and it was those same instincts that had kept him alive – as well as those under his care – for as long as he could remember. It was the unnatural addition of the seals that made himignore those instincts in leu of succumbing to the whims of whichever Master he served this lifetime, but by god even the seals could not contain his full fury if something ever happened to Integra.

_Well at least_,he mused,_something that Idon't WANT to happen to her._

He still could not figure which he would relish more… her surrender to his offers of carnal pleasures and therefore the assurance of her eventual death, or her succumbing to his offers of Immortality, and rising like a Phoenix from the ashes into the Unlife. Either one would result in one hell of an experience. He had resigned himself long ago – happily, to be sure – that whichever was to be the eventuality, he would never have the pleasure of hearing her call HIM Master. She was Servant to no one, save her Queen and her Country… but... even those precepts had been severely shaken over the course of the past few months.

If she were not so, if her will were not so indominable, if she were not so strong in her beliefs and convictions, then he could not care as deeply for her as he did.

But these were dangerous thoughts, thoughts that led down paths that he could not afford to tread. At least not if he wanted to remain out in the world and not chained in that cold bare basement cell once more. If she had even an inkling of what his true instincts were towards her then he had no doubt that 'back in his cell' would be the least interesting method of torture and confinement… she could be damned creative where making his life miserable was concerned.

So. To take his overactive mind from the damnedable Integra and her all-too-eager hired date, he had spent the pasthour mundanely cleaned his guns - twice - and the previous two hours engaged in a bit of target practice with the estate patrol. Unfortunately for him they were getting too used to his idea of target practice, and were getting quicker on their feet, as well as had taken to wearing heavier ballistic armor. He was really trying to be 'good' this time and follow her orders...though he would almost be willing to risk her irein order towatch her put that young Lordling in his place. He almost felt sorry for the boy when he thought of the surprise that awaited him and his advances. Alucard knew she was only packing a .22 but she was a dead shot... and male anatomy was very delicate.

* * *

Integral had not felt herself since the first round of dancing, and was rather perturbed that the feeling only persisted in worsening over the past several hours. She was a bit dizzy and too relaxed; her usual rapier wit was almost sluggish and her thinking a bit too hazy for her liking. She had no problems with polite conversation however verbal sparring was out of the question. She attributed her pseudo-inebriated state to the three glasses of champagne which Nathaniel had coaxed into her against her better judgment – she knew what alcohol did to her and the last thing that she needed was to get drunk at the first party the Queen had seen fit to invite her to since her release from the Tower. She could not afford for any of these overstuffed popinjay's to see her as less than totally in control of herself, or, like a pack of wild dogs with a wounded member, they would tear her apart.

Therefore she had eyed the fourth flute and the golden, bubbly substance therein with something akin to contempt. Instead she had given in to Nathaniel's insistence for another round of dancing.

They were in the middle of a waltz when the vertigo struck her. She tightened her grip on Nathaniel as her feet suddenly forgot which direction was down. Without missing a beat he locked his arms to keep her from tripping over the intricate steps of the dance, and discreetly inquired if she needed to step outside. She shook her head no and called her senses strictly to order, but nearly lost her footing again as another disconcerting wave if dizziness hit her. He compensated by pretending to draw her closer to him for an intimate moment on the dance floor while secretly using the stance to keep her from falling. She nodded to him wordlessly then and he led her to the back veranda that overlooked the gardens.

"Better?" he asked quietly as he helped her to the railing, concern written on his handsome face. Integral tightly gripped the wrought iron with strangely numb gloved fingers and took a deep pull of the chill night air. Her body felt as if it were containing a small inferno and her muscles could not decide whether they were rubber or jell-o. She nodded quickly to his inquiry even though it was not entirely true, and the world swam before. Her and her back and shoulder muscles threatened to follow her fingers in their rebellious decision to go numb. Something was wrong, but her groggy mind could not quite figure out what that might be. Nathaniel waved off a concerned Page who had followed them out to the balcony, drawing close to Integra in order to shield her condition from prying eyes. His lips near her ear spoke softly, yet persuadingly insistent. "Perhaps a short stroll through the gardens? It's cooler and quieter there."

His smooth suggestion seemed not entirely unappealing to Integral's fuzzy mind. He had been the perfect companion all evening, assuring that his banter was a mixture of good natured teasing and light charm and therefore she saw no danger in a stroll with him. She did not quite recall having agreed to the suggestion when she felt his white-gloved hand taking her elbow gently and guiding them down the outside steps from the balcony to the garden. She leaned on him heavily, trying to maintain her footing as well as her dignity as they began to snake through one of the many garden paths.

The Page allowed a soft smirk to flit across his lips - the Ice Princess had gotten herself drunk and was now headed into the gardens with the Queen's rogue of a cousin... oh what gossip THAT would be.

* * *

Alucard raised his chin from his chest where it had been resting as he tried to convince himself to doze, and allowed a small frown to pass his features.

Something was wrong.

Through the empathetic bond fostered in over a decade of servitude to Integral, the monster felt a stab of panic. By now he was used to feeling the emotions that his Master's carefully schooled countenance refused to show, however when that panic was followed quickly by a blanket of nothingness, no emotion at all, Alucard became interested.

It was almost as if Integral's emotions had ceased to exist.

He grunted and rose with a flourish, calling his guns to him from their resting place on the table. He tried to home in on Integral's unique thought pattern, to see if he could interpret what was going on in her locale, but he could not sense her _at all._

Her imperative for him to stay away from her this evening suddenly warred violently with his instincts. He knew that, even though she often refused to show them, she did in fact FEEL the full gambit of regular human emotions, and at times they were even deliciously heightened. Even in her sleep her thoughts called involuntarily out to him. For her to turn them off completely was impossible no matter how much she would wish otherwise.

However. If he was incorrect about the situation… then this would be it for him. She would accept no excuse or apology, and would in fact fill him so full of silver that his body could be used to press coins and would not care if it were in the middle of the Gala or not. He knew what lines he could and could not safely cross, and earlier this evening he had almost crossed them all. He had no doubt that she would carry out her earlier threat, and more. She would put him back in that detestable little room just as she had found him and draw the dark magical symbols to keep him there with her own blood if she had to.

He paced dangerously back and forth in his room, his indecision mounting. _If she needs me, she will call for me, _he rationalized to himself. His instincts had been wrong in the past, after all.

_Not often, Vlad, _came that annoyingly mocking little voice in the back of his head, the voice of reason that sometimes decided to rear its ugly logic at the most inopportune moments. _And she will call for you only as a last resort, and only if she CAN. _

He growled, and transported himself to the location of the Queens Ball. Her young Lordling would shortly have Hell to pay.

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_you guessed it... to be continued... _


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Apologies that this is so short... I fell into a Miyazaki Marathon (Master Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki - responsible for Prinncess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service... a man who's creations are well worth falling into.)_

_Will hvae the next chapter/conclusion up soon! Promise! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!_

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Integrahad come to the conclusion that she was NOT alright after only a few minutes into their walk. 

Her mind was too clouded, her muscles refused to respond to more than rote commands, and she could not feel… um… _well_… Whatever it was that she could no longer feel she could also not put into words - only that it was in absence. Nathaniel kept up a glib conversation, a stream of inane dribble that served only to distract her from properly analyzing the situation. She wanted to stop walking, wanted to ask him to take her home,concerned that she had suddenly come down with some sort of virus and she did not want him or the other guests of the Gala to be infected. Damn it all, she had spoken privately with Her Majesty this evening. She had to get home, to quarantine herself, and had to send word to watch for any of the symptoms that she was now suffering. It would not surprise her if it was some centuries-old illness that she had picked up from her stay in the Tower – who knew what diseases the past occupants of her cell had had. Integra was young and strong and had the will to fight almost any sickness, she knew, but the Queen could not boast the same and must NOT be put at risk.

Finally her irritation at Nathaniel and his incessant droning grew to such a height that she forced herself to sound her displeasure. "I must sit down, Lord Billings."

He shut up immediately and nodded, steering them towards a secluded sitting area designed for midnight trysts and secret lovers' rendezvous, his dark grin obscured by the shadows around them. As they reached the wooden bench he sharply sat her down in it, his eyes gleaming with an almost wolfish glee. She had seen that same look in someone else' eyes… and be damned if she could muster the mental power to recall from where. She attempted to rise and protest his rough handling of her, but her body suddenly refused to respond to her minds command to get back up again.

He laughed softly at her futile attempts, realizing them for what they were. He took off his tuxedo jacket and laid it gently upon one of the rose bushes, fishing around inside one of the inner breast pockets as he did so.

"W…what are you doing, Nathaniel…?" Integral demanded softly. She wanted to demand harshly, but her chest refused to let her have that much air. That annoyed her. She resolved to try harder next time.

He turned around to glance at her, one brow raised as if he were impressed that she still held the ability to allow so much emotion to color her voice, much less the muscle control and mental capacity to still speak.

He turned back to his jacket as if she had not spoke, but then turned with a dramatic flourish to face her, his handsome face contorted in some sort of deranged glee. He approached the bench she was on and her heart began a mad gallop as she saw something gleaming in his right hand. He reached out and placed the wicked looking dagger on the bench beside her before answering, quite civilly.

"Why, Integral my dear, I am murdering you."

Internally, she sighed in disappointment. _This again?_ _Can't they think of anything NEW? And… Nathaniel? What on earth would he have to gain by MY death? Walter really will have to start screening my escorts a little more thoroughly._

But she supposed she would go ahead and play his little game, therefore she made the prerequisite, and rather token, lunge-to-get-away in his general direction. Frustratingly, all she managed was to jerk slightly. She conjured a frown at the unresponsive nature of her body.

He laughed. "Magnesium Sulfate, with a dash of nifedipine for flavor," he answered her unspoken question amiably as he unbuttoned his cuffs and began to roll them up. "Muscle relaxers my dear. Your drinks were spiked. One dose is usually sufficient for 24-48 hours of near-euphoric paralysis, but _three_…" He tsk'ed.

_Sigh.I knew I should not have had that third glass._ Her breathing seemed very suddenly shallow and her head began to ache as he knelt before her, reaching out his hands to grab her feel and remove her shoes.

"Why…?" she demanded through gritted teeth, attempting to summon the vast reserves of willpower that had never failed her in the past. This was, quite frankly, pissing her off - and if Alucard ever got wind of this he would never let her live it down.

"Why?" He pretended shock that she should even have to ask that. "Because you are a disgrace to Crown and Country," he replied, as if it had been painfully obvious. "You may begin to feel slightly nauseous soon." She felt the urge to kick him in the face - mainly for his lack of originality - as he lifted her left foot and slid his hands under her dress and up her silken calf. All she could manage was a twitch of her big toe. _Damn._

"You have disgraced your father's good name," he continued. "You cavort with undead demons, and have even allowed your _pet,"he_ spat the word, "to corrupt an innocent police girl." His eyes locked arrogantly with hers as his hand traveled that shapely limb past her knee, laughing softly in derision of the fires of indignation that lit her glassy eyes as his fingers brushed the flesh of her inner thigh. Her mind screamed at her body to respond, NOW, to get this filth off of her. She closed her eyes and gatheredto herself one last attempt to move, to break free and to kill this arrogantbastard. "Instead of having her destroyed like the mongrel she is, you put her under your employ," he continued as if oblivious to her apoplectic rage. "You are weak, Miss Hellsing, and weakness cannot be tolerated. You blood shall be put to better purposes than flowing in your useless veins."

"So you... condemn me for... trafficking with demons... yet you intend to... do the same?" She snorted as his eyes narrowed. Good, she had guessed his scheme correctly."Hypocrite," she spat in the coldest and most demeaning tone that she could muster. "You sicken me."

Since her muscle response had decided to take a brief vacation, she decided to bite the damned bullet and summon Alucard. She tried to call out to him silently as she did in her sleep, knowing the fate to which she was condemning herself as he came to her rescue - she would just forbid him from ever mentioning this in the future. _Yeah... like that has ever worked before._

Astonishingly however her brain refused to function properly... It was then that she realized what it was that she had been NOT feeling: the archaic and mystical connection to her monster that had been formed from the first moment he had tasted of her blood all those long years ago.

Her eyes grew large and she swallowed. She then threw an accusatory glare at her captor who was still fishing around under her skirts. "What…? ...my mind…?"

Nathaniel chuckled as he finally found his target and gently removed the .22 from her garter. He threw it towards the rose bushes and rocked back on his heels. "Those muscle relaxers were made especially for this moment," he explained as he stood now and leaned low over her as he repositioned her on the bench. "They ALSO contain a substance that was experimented with in Russia during the 1930s. It was supposed to inhibit psychic impulses. _Telepathic_ impulses," he paused, significantly, so that his meaning would not be lost.

_Oh bloody hell. _

* * *

_but wait... there's more..._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: YAH Finale! I hope that this has been enjoyed...thanks for all the wonderful advise and reviews._

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He winked at her and removed her wrap, tilting her head to expose her neck to the pale moonlight. "Unfortunately, they could never quite perfect the formula. The lastround of testing performedin 1937 were a dismal failure. All of the test subjects died. Horrible, painful deaths." He took a step back from her and canted his head, gazing at the scene critically as if he were an artist positioning a model. "Those that were able to speak in the more advanced stages said that it felt as if their brains were on fire inside of their skulls. Now I ASK you, how does one know what that feels like? I am sure he was exaggerating." 

Her mind raced - not that a slug could not have won against it at this particular moment. She cursed her arrogance and her stupidity for allowing this situation to occur, but did not dwell too long. Nathaniel reached now for the knife that he had brought with him, allowing its blade to flash in the moonlight. Her ice blue eyes caught sight of the runes inscribed on its blade, and she managed a feeble yet condescending laugh. "Where did... a child's toy ... Pagans-R-Us...?" _Damn. Loosing words. Where the hell is my vampire?_

His handsome face contorted into a terrible mask of rage from which most people would have recoiled in fear. "It's an ancient Celtic ceremonial dagger!" he fairly screeched as he lost some of his self control and lunged at her. He wiped a bit of spittle from his lip as he brandished the knife at her throat, his eyes wild around the edges. He voice became more wild and frenzied as he yelled. "Its ancient and its blessed and it will take your blood from you, and then I will consume it and then I will be more powerful than even your pet freak! The Queen and Country won't need YOU anymore! **I **will destroy all her enemies! **I **will be all-powerful!"

She did her damnedest to laugh as he continued his tirade, her icy eyes filled with hate and contempt. The effects of the drugs were becoming worse but her indomitable will refused to let him see that. She knew that this was a dangerous situation and that provoking him could either lead him to kill her now or to go into a tirade that would just prolong the attempt. It was a gamble but she refused to just lay there and die. Someone might come… surely Alucard was skulking around somewhere despite her direct order NOT to. Surely he had felt the absence of their usually powerful mind link. _Then again, he also knows that you have spent countless hours perfecting ways to keep him out of your mind. _

"Pitiful." She spat, or at least attempted to. "I expected … something half… intelligent … you, Nathaniel. How you… DO …disappoint."

At that he struck her hard across the face. She felt a sickening crack from her nose and the pain of a welt forming on her cheek, and then had blood trickling from the wound, a droplet of which fell to her lips. She tried in vain to convince her tongue to remove the offending droplet, but it had better things to do. Almost as soon as he had done this he straddled her on the bench, moving her head back into position, running his fingers through her hair. He bent low and smelled her in a most primal fashion.

"Hmmm... yes..." he growled softly. She was sickened to feel the press of his manhood against her as he shifted his weight to keep his balance as he raised both hands above his head. "Die now, Integra Hellsing, so that your blood may make me a god."

She refused to pass out now, knew that if she did she was finished. She gathered the last reserves of strength as he raised his little knife in the air, and managed to buck her hips and unbalance him as he brought the dagger savagely down in an attempt to drive it into her chest.

He screamed in frustration as he was dislodged and the blade plunged into the flesh of her upper arm by her shoulder. Liquid fire coursed through her arm and shoulder and she screamed, the sound coming out as a muffled squeak as the last of her strength was sapped by the searing pain. He hit her across the face again, harder, as he regained his position astride her and roughly pulled the dagger from its sheath in her arm. Her stomach rolled with nausea at the pain.

She tried one more time, feebly, to call out for her monster, to command him to come to her even though she was sure that he could not hear her. She imagined him sulking in his coffin, blissfully unaware that she was being killed. She pushed one last, final time on the seals that still bound them even if the empathetic link was no longer there, demanding that he present himself to her NOW… his Master called him, DEMANDED his presence and that he uphold the pact forged between himself and the Van Helsings by the dark and archaic alchemy of the past…

Vaguely, though pain-and-drug numbed senses, she recognized the weight that was pressing down on her shifted and then disappeared completely. She forced herself to remain conscious, and when there was a small yelp and the flicker of shadows she demanded her eyes to function, to look around and identify the new threat. In the vaguest of senses she saw a blackness punctuated by dozens of deep red eyes, and even though her eyes refused to blink or her muscles refused to twitch, she managed a satisfied smirk.

Her eyes slipped closed and her mind went oddly silent as the full effects of the drugs hit her. It was amazing to her as she floated in the ether of half-consciousness that her involuntary systems of breathing and heartbeat were still functioning. There were vague noises of the squishy and screaming variety all around her and then a shattering silence. Finally, a familiar presence loomed just beyond her senses.

"What... took... long?" she managed in a feeble yet demanding whisper. His reply was a low chuckle, and though she could not see it, a shake of his head as he gazed down at her.

"Invictus," he accused, softly, yet with an odd affection to his voice. "Will you survive?"

"Philistine," she managed to shoot back with a small semblance of amusement. She had the sensation of moving and then felt the slosh of coldness as, for some reason, she slipped off her bench and onto the cold stones below her. _Wait..._ _cold yes, but not hard._ No, infinitely comfortable, gentle, and secure. She could not quite figure out what she was laying on, but whatever it was enveloped her completely in its chill touch. "I thought... you said… wouldn't come…" It was definitely an arched challenge despite the effort that it took to even speak at all. Her body had the sensation of motion, and it was then that she smelled his scent all around her.

He shrugged gently, so as not to cause her more pain as he lifted her to his arms. "You amuse me." he said by way of explanation. His voice was soft and cool and reassuring, almost tender. His breath brushed against her skin as he boldly reached out to lick the splatters of her blood that painted her cheeks and her lips. "Mmmm… " he purred darkly. "Delicious." The vibrations echoed from his chest and through her. Had she been able she would have shivered. "Sleep now, my Master. I shall see you safely home."

_As if I have a choice. _Safe in her monster's arms, she finally fell into unconsciousness.

He tightened his grip upon her as he willed himself to be surrounded by the nights concealing shadows. Quicker than the ticks between time he transported them towards the Hellsing estate. "Silly girl, my Integra..." he continued, gazing down at her tenderly. "You should know by now that I will always come for you."

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"... and in other news, the search continues for Lord Nathaniel Billings who disappeared from the Queen's summer gala this past week-end. Allegedly he was last seen exiting the Gala after having received a phone call from an unknown source. Reports of his whereabouts should be made to the London Police..." 

Walter shook his head and turned off the tellie, still rather miffed that Billings would have abandoned Sir Integra at the ball like he did. As he moved towards the kitchens to prepare her afternoon tea he was just thankful that Alucard had been there when she fell on the wet cobbles of the garden. He shuddered to think how long she would have lain there if her monster had not been there to bring her home. He put on the kettle, wondering exactly what type of etiquette it was that these young aristocrats were taught these days.

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_Fin_


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